Adjustable cage floor construction

ABSTRACT

An adjustable floor construction particularly adaptable for use in cage raising poultry, ranging in size from starters to growers to layers, said floor construction comprising a fixed section, a first adjustable section adjustably secured to said fixed section and a second adjustable section adjustably secured to said first adjustable section. The first adjustable section being selectively secured in either an upwardly inclined ramp position so that baby chicks of starter size may ascend thereon to avail themselves to feed or in a downwardly inclined ramp position upon which eggs of layer birds may freely gravitate to an egg receiving tray. The second adjustable section being capable of functioning both as part of a locking means and as said egg receiving tray.

United States Patent Siciliano 1 Sept. 11, 1973 ADJUSTABLE CAGE FLOORPrimary ExaminerLouis G. Mancene CONSTRUCTION Assistant Examiner-GregoryE. McNeill [75] Inventor: Anthony J. Siciliano, New York, Atwmey KarlFlocks N.Y. 73] Assignee: Diamond International Corporation, [57]ABSTRACT New York, NY. An adjustable floor construction particularlyadaptable [22] Filed Jan 19 1972 for use in cage raising poultry,ranging in size from starters to growers to layers, said floorconstruction [21] App]. No.: 218,866 comprising a fixed section, a firstadjustable section adjustably secured to said fixed section and a secondadjustable section adjustably secured to said first adjustliil3;?ili.1111:111111111111111111111111111111111?x1111133 aala Tha fiaaaaajaaaala baaaa [58] Field of Search 119/17 18 4s 45 R secured in eitherupwardly inclined Posi' 1 tion so that baby chicks of starter size mayascend thereon to avail themselves to feed or in a downwardly ReferencesCited inclined ramp position upon which eggs of layer birds may freelygravitate to an egg receiving tray. The sec- UNITED STATES PATENTS 0ndadjustable section being capable of functioning both as part of alocking means and as said egg receivoc man.... 1 3,3l9,606 5/l967 Virgil119/51 mg tray' 11 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures ll H II ADJUSTABLE CAGEFLOOR CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to a floor construction for use incombination with a cage in which animals are confined, and in particularto a cage in which said floor construction may be selectively adjustedto accommodate animalsof various sizes.

2. Description of the prior art.

Adjustable floor constructions although they are known in the prior art,relate to different problems than that sought to be solved by applicant.Exemplifying the prior art, for example, is US. Pat. No. 2,176,814 toHawkins. In the Hawkins patent a floor member 64 is provided which maybe adjusted to an inclined position to facilitate collection of eggslaid by the occupants of the cage or to a horizontal position for thecomfort and rest of the occupants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a new andimproved cage arrangement with versatility in accommodating occupants ofa wide range in size. In accordance with the present invention a cagearrangement in which animals (in particular poultry) may be confined isprovided with an adjustable floor construction which is selectivelyadjustable to accommodate very young birds of baby chick or starter sizeto grower, and larger birds of mature layer size,

Another object of this invention is to provide a cage floor constructionwhich is adaptable to function as an upwardly inclined ramp upon whichyoung bird occupants of the cage may ascend to a trough for feed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cage arrangementwhich may be extended in size to accommodate relatively large size birdsto avoid crowding them by extending a section of the floor to a lowerposition. t

Still another object of this invention is to provide a floorconstruction which is adaptable tofunction as a downwardly inclined rampupon which eggs laid by hen occupants may freely gravitate to acollection area.

Moreover, it is an object of this invention to provide an adjustablefloor construction including an egg collecting tray which also functionsas part ofa locking device for the adjustable floor section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings, whereinthere is illustrated one complete embodiment of a preferred form of theinvention, and wherein the same reference numerals designate the sameparts, in all of the views:

FIG. 1 shows an end elevational view of the cage arrangement accordingtothis invention with portions broken away to illustrate details of theadjustable floor functioning as a ramp for baby chicks; and

FIG. 2 shows an end elevational view of the cage arrangement of FIG. 1with portions broken away to illustrate details of the adjustable floorextended to accommodate mature size birds and to serve as a roll-awayramp for eggs laid by hen occupants of the cage.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularlyto the drawings, the cage arrangement generally designated C may beadapted to accommodatehousing requirements of very small birdssuch asbaby chicks B as shown in FIG. 1 to housing requirements of mature fullgrown birds such as the laying hen H shown in FIG. 2. As illustrated,the cage C is of standard wire construction and comprises a rear floorsection 10, which is integrally formed with a rear wall 12 and sidewalls13 (only one of which is shown). Rear floor section 10, which is fixed,is formed with a network of wires including a plurality of longitudinally extending members 11, the forward-most one of which serves as apivot point for an adjustable front floor or ramp section 14. Theadjustable floor section l4lis pivotally secured to fixed floor section10 by meansof a plurality of longitudinally spaced loop elements 16 eachof which encircles the forward-most wire member 11 of fixed floorsection10 and one of the wire members 15 of adjustable floor section 14slightly forward of the rear edge thereof. Adjustably secured adjacentthe front edge of floor section 14 is a ramp supporting section 18.Support section 18 comprises a plurality of longitudinally extendingwires 19 and is adjustably hinged to adjustable section 14 by aplurality of longitudinally spaced loop elements 22 encircling arearward-most wire member 19 of supporting section 18 and a wire member15 of adjustable floor section 14 somewhat to the rear of the forwardedge thereof. The forward portion of support ramp 18 is formed in theshape of a tray 20 into which eggs E may freely gravitate. A pluralityof fixed longitudinally spaced support bracketsj24 are positionedadjacent the lower front edge of the cage C. Each support bracket 24comprises a generally vertically extending lock lug 26 and a traysupporting edge 28. Each lock lug 26 is adapted to be interposed betweena pair of longitudinally extending wire members 19 of the rampsupporting section 18 to lock adjustable floor section 14 in either itsupwardly inclined or its downwardly inclinedposition. As best seenseenin FIG. 2, adjustable floor section 14 in its downwardly inclinedposition is hingedly connected to the underside of fixed floor section10 in overlapping relationship therewith. Similarly, ramp supportingsection 18 is hingedly connected to adjustable floor section 14 on theunderside thereof in overlapping relationship therewith.

At the lower portion of a forward wall 29 feed 30 is provided in atrough 32 secured thereto. Extending downwardly and to the, rear fromthe front side of the trough 30 is a guard element 34.

Cage C thus may be used to accommodate the housing requirements of babychicks B as shown in FIG. 1 with adjustable floor sections 14selectively adjusted to the upwardly inclined ramp position. To secureadjustable floor section 14 in this position, ramp support section 18 isswung to approximately with respect to adjustable section 14 and loweredover bracket 24 with the lock lugs passing between the two forward-mostlongitudinally extending wire members 19 at the front edge of trough 20.Thus any weight imposed upon adjustable floor section 14 by the chicks Bwould tend to be resolved along ramp supporting section 18 andultimately directed against lock lugs v26, which retain adjustablesection 14 and ramp supporting section 18 in the selected position. Thusbaby chicks B may ascend adjustable floor section 14 serving as a rampand avail themselves of the feed 30 provided in trough 32.

Alternatively, adjustable floor section 14 may be optionally swung fromthe position shown in FIG. 1 by raising the front edge of egg tray 20out of engagement with lock lugs 26 to the position shown in FIG. 2.Adjustable floor section 14 may then be swung downwardly in thedirection of the dotted arrow, past the lower portion of guard 34 sothat the forward and rear edges of adjustable floor section 14 assumestabilizing, overlapping relationships with ramp supporting section 18and rear floor section 10, respectively. With tray 20 lowered ontobracket support edges 28 and lug 26 passing between a pair of thelongitudinally extending wire members 19 as shown in FIG, 2, theadjustable floor section is securely locked. To facilitate hinging ofthe forward edge of adjustable floor section 14 past guard 34 fioorsection 14 may be made of resilient spring material so that it may bedeflected as it passes guard 34. Alternatively, the forward edge ofadjustable floor section 14 may terminate short of the length shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 so that it may freely swing clear of guard 34. In thiscase a somewhat wider feed trough 32 may be provided to preclude anexcessive gap between the front edge of the adjustable floor section 14and the rear edge of the trough 32. As shown in FIG. 2, any weightimposed upon the adjustable floor section 14 by the occupants of cage Cwould ultimately be transmitted to lock lug 26 interposed between a pairof longitudinally extending wires 19 of ramp supporting section 18 andthe tray extension 20 thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, in the extended orlowered position of floor section 14, adjustable floor section 14 andramp supporting section 18 are each generally parallel to a fixed floorsection which extends forwardly from rear wall 12 to facilitategravitation or roll-away of any eggs laid by occupants H of the cage Cto collecting tray 20.

It is to be understood that while one preferred embodiment of thepresent invention has been illustrated and described herein, numerousvariations or modifications herein may occur to those having skill inthis art and what is intended to be covered herein is not only theillustrated form of the invention, but also any and all modified formsthereof as may come within the spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a cage arrangement for selectively confining either very younganimals or fully mature animals, in particular animals such as day oldchicks to fully mature sized birds such as egg laying hens, for example,an adjustable flooring construction comprising: a fixed floor sectionextending from a rear wall to a forward edge and a movable sectionadjustably secured to the forward edge of said fixed section, saidmovable section being selectively adjustable to an upwardly inclinedposition to accommodate relatively young birds confined in said cage andto a downwardly inclined position to accommodate relatively maturebirds.

2. The cage construction according to claim 1 wherein said movablesection is hingedly secured to the forward edge of said fixed section.

3. In a cage arrangement for selectively confining either very younganimals or fully mature animals, in particularly animals such as day oldchicks to fully mature sized birds such as egg laying hens, for example,an adjustable flooring construction comprising: a fixed floor sectionextending from a rear wall to a forward edge and a movable sectionadjustably secured to the forward edge of said fixed section, saidmovable section being selectively adjustable to an up position toaccommodate relatively young birds confined in said cage and to a downposition to accommodate relatively mature birds, said movable section ishingedly secured to the forward edge of said fixed section and includesa rear edge which is adapted to extend in overlapping relationship underthe forward edge of said fixed section when said movable section islowered to its down position to accommodate relatively mature birds.

4. A cage construction according to claim 3 wherein said movable sectionhas an egg tray adjustably secured thereto adjacent its forward edge.

5. The cage construction according to claim 4 wherein said egg traycomprises a rear edge which is adapted to extend in overlappingrelationship under the forward edge of said movable section when saidmovable section is lowered to its down position to accommodaterelatively mature birds.

6. The cage construction according to claim 5 wherein said egg tray ishingedly secured to said movable section.

7. The cage construction according to claim 6 in combination withlocking means for selectively retaining said movable section in eitherits up or its down position.

8. The cage construction according to claim 7 wherein said locking meanscomprises fixed bracket means including a support portion upon which aportion at least of said egg tray is supported in the up or downposition of said movable section and an upwardly projecting lug forlocking said movable section and said egg tray in a given position.

9. The cage construction according to claim 8 wherein said lug passesthrough the bottom of said egg tray and precludes collapsing movement ofsaid movable section of an egg tray in abutting relationship against atleast one longitudinally extending wire forming a part of the egg tray.

10. The cage construction according to claim 9 wherein said movablesection is adjustable to an upwardly inclined ramp position on whichrelatively young chicks may ascend and avail themselves to feed in atrough. I

11. The cage construction according to claim 9 wherein said movablesection and said egg tray in the down position thereof extend downwardlyat a relatively slight grade along with said fixed section all atsubstantially the same angle with the horizontal to facilitate gentlegravitation of eggs from said floor sections into said tray.

=0 I II

1. In a cage arrangement for selectively confining either very younganimals or fully mature animals, in particular animals such as day oldchicks to fully mature sized birds such as egg laying hens, for example,an adjustable flooring construction comprising: a fixed floor sectionextending from a rear wall to a forward edge and a movable sectionadjustably secured to the forward edge of said fixed section, saidmovable section being selectively adjustable to an upwardly inclinedposition to accommodate relatively young birds confined in said cage andto a downwardly inclined position to accommodate relatively maturebirds.
 2. The cage construction according to claim 1 wherein saidmovable section is hingedly secured to the forward edge of said fixedsection.
 3. In a cage arrangement for selectively confining either veryyoung animals or fully mature animals, in particularly animals such asday old chicks to fully mature sized birds such as egg laying hens, forexample, an adjustable flooring construction comprising: a fixed floorsection extending from a rear wall to a forward edge and a movablesection adjustably secured to the forward edge of said fixed section,said movable section being selectively adjustable to an up position toaccommodate relatively young birds confined in said cage and to a downposition to accommodate relatively mature birds, said movable section ishingedly secured to the forward edge of said fixed section and includesa rear edge which is adapted to extend in overlapping relationship underthe forward edge of said fixed section when said movable section islowered to its down position to accommodate relatively mature birds. 4.A cage construction according to claim 3 wherein said movable sectionhas an egg tray adjustably secured thereto adjacent its forward edge. 5.The cage construction according to claim 4 wherein sAid egg traycomprises a rear edge which is adapted to extend in overlappingrelationship under the forward edge of said movable section when saidmovable section is lowered to its down position to accommodaterelatively mature birds.
 6. The cage construction according to claim 5wherein said egg tray is hingedly secured to said movable section. 7.The cage construction according to claim 6 in combination with lockingmeans for selectively retaining said movable section in either its up orits down position.
 8. The cage construction according to claim 7 whereinsaid locking means comprises fixed bracket means including a supportportion upon which a portion at least of said egg tray is supported inthe up or down position of said movable section and an upwardlyprojecting lug for locking said movable section and said egg tray in agiven position.
 9. The cage construction according to claim 8 whereinsaid lug passes through the bottom of said egg tray and precludescollapsing movement of said movable section of an egg tray in abuttingrelationship against at least one longitudinally extending wire forminga part of the egg tray.
 10. The cage construction according to claim 9wherein said movable section is adjustable to an upwardly inclined rampposition on which relatively young chicks may ascend and availthemselves to feed in a trough.
 11. The cage construction according toclaim 9 wherein said movable section and said egg tray in the downposition thereof extend downwardly at a relatively slight grade alongwith said fixed section all at substantially the same angle with thehorizontal to facilitate gentle gravitation of eggs from said floorsections into said tray.